ASK4HD is committed to cultivating an experience of artistic expression for children who may seem different but are also very similar, and encouraging a celebration of this diversity through a process of co-creation. The group will build on a previous capstone project – “Mix It Up” – by the DLI Twenty Sixers (see: https://www.furman.edu/riley/diversity-strategies/diversity-leaders-initiative/community-action-projects/twenty-sixers/). Similar to the previous project, the goal of this project is to provide children who have autism an opportunity to interact with typically-developing children and to provide typically-developing students with an opportunity to learn about autism.

ASK4HD is collaborating with Dr. Kathie Williams, EdVenture, and Mr. Jim Lalumondier, art teacher at Hammond, to develop an art project to be co-created by children who have autism and typically-developing children. The participating children who have autism will be drawn from the students at the Autism Academy in Columbia, South Carolina. The typically-developing children will be part of the bioinvestigators initiative of EdVenture as part of Science Technology Education and Math (STEM) funding from the National Institutes of Health. This latter group consists of middle school students from across the Midlands with an interest in STEM. The art project will involve creating a larger image from students working together to create smaller images.

The date of the experience is August or September 2013 at EdVenture in Columbia, South Carolina.